What's being said and Dunn

Players weigh in on trade for Reds power hitter

Here are some of the notable quotes from around Major League Baseball this week:

"I know you probably think I'm a little bit different. But [Australia is] not that much different. It's pretty similar to the States. Pretty much my dad and I were walking around one day in a park and saw the game being played. It was T-ball actually."

--Grant Balfour, Tampa Bay pitcher, about how life in Australia isn't that different from the United States and his introduction to baseball.
(Raysbaseball.com)

"It's great. He's an amazing hitter. He can help any offense out, no doubt about it. I'm glad to have him here. He puts up some amazing power numbers. You know he's going to hit some home runs, and he brings us some excitement to the game as well."

"He consistently comes out and pitches like you would expect a veteran to. It's not like he has a chip on his shoulder, but there's a little bit of that. He's been working so hard that many of us thought he should have been here already. He's fun to watch. The demeanor of a knuckleballer is so laid back. They just go at it, slicing and dicing."

-- Boston's Justin Masterson commenting on Charlie Zink, who was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket to take the spot of injured pitcher Tim Wakefield.
(Boston Herald)

"I've never felt this good in my career at the plate. I believed I was going to help [the team] to make a comeback and do the best for the team, but now I'm out."

--Carlos Lee after suffering a broken left pinky Saturday night. The injury required surgery from which it will take Lee six-to-eight weeks to recover.
(Astros.com)

"If all goes well, hopefully I'll be there soon. My arm is feeling great, but I need to throw innings."

-- Newly signed Detroit pitcher Freddy Garcia, who hopes to be able to help the Tigers in 2009, if not by the end of this season.
(Detroit News)

"I'm not there yet, but I feel like I can be. It's just a matter of me doing it. I want to be that guy to go eight and possibly complete the game."

-- John Danks, Chicago White Sox pitcher, expressing his desire to be a pitcher that can regularly go deep into games.
(Chicago Tribune)

"I couldn't even feel my legs. I was floating."

-- White Sox rookie Chris Getz after getting his first Major League hit on Tuesday night.
(Chicago Tribune)

"I got something that just came about so unexpectedly. It was something I never thought I'd get a chance to do -- play in the Olympics, represent my country and win gold."

--Ryan Franklin, Cardinals pitcher, who was a part of the gold-medal-winning United States Olympic baseball team at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

"It'd be great. What day did [Lou Piniella] say? Sunday? It'll be hot."

-- Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs pitcher, on the possibility that he may make his first Major League start on Sunday.
(MLB.com)

"It's an indescribable feeling. I literally had no words, no thoughts going through my head -- just, 'Holy cow!' It didn't start sinking in until he told me to go home and start packing. When I started looking at all my stuff and actually packed my bags, my heart started to race a little bit."

-- Rookie outfielder Chris Dickerson, who had a hit in four at-bats in his debut on Tuesday, on being called up to play for the Reds.
(MLB.com)

"I feel a lot more comfortable up there at the plate. I'm not saying I'm perfect by any means, but I feel a lot more confident, yes."

--Adam Everett, Twins shortstop, on his increasingly high level of comfort at the plate.
(MLB.com)

"I've got to pitch either way, so it's not really relevant how I feel. If it's 50 percent, I'll go out there. It's a lot better now than it was."

--Scott Olsen, Marlins pitcher, announcing his intention make his start against the Cardinals despite a sprained ankle that keeps him from doing normal between-start running.
(South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

"Garrett has shown flashes of brilliance. Whether he ends up a third starter, a fourth starter or in the bullpen, he has quality Major League stuff, and he'll keep getting better."

"It's always pretty fun when you walk the Dodgers off the field. They've done it to us a lot in the past. They did it to us in '04 [to knock the Giants out of the playoffs]. It was kind of good to give it back to them. This was a big series for us to keep our confidence going. Obviously, for those guys in contention, if they're going to do it, they're going to have to go through us. We're going to have to push them."

"Jose is gaining experience every day and doing a good job now, and sometimes young talent without experience outplays veteran talent with experience just with stuff. You have to be in tune with that, also. Jose doesn't have a lot of experience, but his stuff is electric, and in every situation, he's done a good job."

"The difference that I see in Felix now is, tonight, he clearly didn't have his best stuff, and he's still into the eighth inning. He didn't try to strike everybody out. He was pitching to contact, for sure. So, a legitimate ace."

--Raul Ibanez of the Mariners on the pitching efforts of Felix Hernandez.
(Seattle Times)

"It's going to be good. He's a guy that produces a lot of runs, he draws some walks and has a good on-base percentage. I don't know where they're going to stick him, but wherever it is, he's going to do some damage."

--Brandon Webb, describing his feeling about the Diamondbacks trading for Adam Dunn from Cincinnati.
(dbacks.com)

"Wow. Maybe I should just listen to [Roy] Oswalt and have it cut off."

--Carlos Lee joking about his fractured left pinky before surgery Monday when told about the extent of the damage to the finger.
(Houston Chronicle)